(1) Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a system for conveying the spatial location of an object with respect to a user's current location and, more particularly, to a system utilizing a video following an automatically generated path from the user's location to the location of the object of interest initiated from the user's current perspective.
(2) Description of Related Art
Navigation systems have long been known in the art. In particular, navigation systems for use in vehicles are now common and aid in guiding a driver from one location to another in unfamiliar environments. Additionally, navigation systems for handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) have become more popular and offer portability to the user. Both navigation systems require the user to first specify a particular destination of interest, utilize a global positioning system (GPS) to measure the current location, and, finally, apply route-planning algorithms to determine the path from the navigation system to the desired destination. Furthermore, programs are available over the Internet, which provide similar capabilities without a GPS sensor. For instance, programs such as Google Maps and MapQuest allow a user to manually enter a start point and a destination point to retrieve a route for traveling between the two points. Google Maps and MapQuest are produced by Google, Inc., located at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, Calif. 94043.
Typically, results of both GPS-dependent systems as well as Internet programs are displayed as two-dimensional or three-dimensional maps from a top-down, or bird's eye, view. Such viewpoints can be confusing or ambiguous if the user is in an unfamiliar environment. Importantly, existing handheld computing devices lack the ability to estimate the orientation (e.g., roll, pitch, and yaw) of the device. The orientation of the device would be essential if the user were to require a generated path from a first-person, street-level view to minimize the potential cognitive load of having to translate a top-down view to a real-world view in unfamiliar environments.
Thus, a continuing need exists for a navigation system conveying the spatial location of an object with respect to a user's current location from the user's current perspective, using automatic video generation with the ability to estimate position and orientation.